MLB News

Gleyber 'surprised and excited' about callup

Infielder started at second base after spending most of career at shortstop; Earth Day important to Yankees

By
Danny Knobler

April 22, 2018

NEW YORK -- Gleyber Torres has spent most of his life as a shortstop and played mostly at third base in the early weeks of this season in the Minor Leagues. But the Yankees' top prospect began his Major League career as a second baseman.Torres, who was officially promoted from

NEW YORK -- Gleyber Torres has spent most of his life as a shortstop and played mostly at third base in the early weeks of this season in the Minor Leagues. But the Yankees' top prospect began his Major League career as a second baseman.Torres, who was officially promoted from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Sunday morning, made his big league debut Sunday afternoon at Yankee Stadium in New York's 5-1 win over the Blue Jays, batting eighth and playing second. He went 0-for-4.Yankees manager Aaron Boone hopes he settles in at second.

"We feel like he's a legitimate defender at all three spots," Boone said. "Generally speaking, the plan [right now] is for him to be a second baseman."Yankees second basemen have combined for just a .601 OPS, which ranks 25th in the Major Leagues. Tyler Wade, who started nine of the first 19 games at second base and was batting just .086, was optioned to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to make room for Torres on the roster.At Scranton this season, Torres had started just one game at second base before Friday. He started there Friday and Saturday, and he was told after Saturday's game that he was coming to New York.

"I was very surprised and excited," Torres said. "Last night, I couldn't sleep, for sure. I slept like three hours, maybe four."The 21-year-old Torres was hitting .347 with a .903 OPS in 14 games with the RailRiders. He showed the Yankees he had shaken off the rust after missing 2 1/2 months of last season when he needed Tommy John surgery on his left elbow."Every at-bat in the Minor Leagues, I felt better and better," Torres said.Torres said he feels comfortable at all three positions he has played. In addition to his 14 career starts at second base in the Minors, he played the position for seven games in the 2016 Arizona Fall League.

Regardless of where Torres plays, the Yankees hope Sunday will be the start of something big for a player who was ranked by MLB Pipeline as the No. 5 prospect in the game. Boone said they didn't want to bring him up strictly because of a need at the Major League level. Instead, they wanted to make the call based on Torres' progress, hoping that once he arrived, he would be here to stay."That's hopefully the idea here," Boone said.Green DayThe Yankees celebrated Earth Day Sunday, but they have had a variety of sustainability initiatives in place for several years.Prior to the 2016 season, the Yankees installed LED (light-emitting diodes) lights. The lights used at Yankee Stadium are 40 percent more efficient and 50 percent brighter than the previous field lighting.The Yankees carefully measure and offset greenhouse gas emissions through a collaboration with Eco-Evolutions and The Alcott Group. They are also able to limit greenhouse gas emissions by encouraging fans to use mass transit, which is possible because of the close proximity of subway and Metro-North trains.During the course of a typical season at Yankee Stadium, more than 20,000 gallons of cooking oil is recovered and recycled.Through careful monitoring and high-efficiency plumbing fixtures, Yankee Stadium has saved more than 3 million gallons of water a year, a reduction of 22 percent from water use prior to 2009.Around the horn• Boone said Wade was "disappointed and a little frustrated" at being sent down."It doesn't change how we look at him long-term," Boone said. "We feel like he needs to go down and gain some traction offensively. We do value him going forward. The way baseball is going, with more pitchers on the roster, his versatility really matters."The Yankees added to their bullpen Sunday by signing right-hander David Hale to a Major League contract and selecting him from Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. To make room, Jace Peterson was designated for assignment.• After the game, Boone commented on Christopher Austin's appeal of his suspension."We do anticipate a decision this week," Boone said. "We're aware of it. We know it's coming."• Boone also confirmed that Clint Frazier has passed the team's concussion protocol. He is expected to play for Class A Advanced Tampa beginning early next week.